Prom -- a right of passage for most students -- has evolved from a meal and dance in the high school gym to an elaborate presentation of formal wear, dinner, dance and the post-prom extravaganza.

Students in all of their finery and parents loaded with cameras and video gear gathered a good half hour before the Grand March at the Dakota Dunes Country Club.

While the guys chose the more traditional black tuxedos, girls were decked out this temperate evening in spring colors, of pink, orange, blue, lilac and candy apple green. Upswept hair was set off with sparkling accessories. Dangling, bling earrings complemented matching necklaces.

A handful of young men chose top hats and canes to accompany their white tuxes and in some cases, ties and cummerbunds matched their dates' dresses.

"It's prom," explained Alex Schwartz, a senior from McCook Lake, of his white outfit and coral tie/cummerbund that paralleled Darci Youngstrom's dress. "I'm kind of a flashy person anyway so I like to flaunt it."

Foreign exchange student Franziska Ehlicker of Germany accentuated her "little black dress" -- made by sophomore Sydney Hoffman of Jefferson -- with white nylons and a bright green, chunky necklace that matched her green tennis shoes.

Students lined up in the hallway as art teacher Midge Zimmerman and English teacher Anna Michaelson distributed marching numbers and orders. In the ballroom, parents strained against the yellow ropes that provided the entrance.

Looking nervous and a bit self-conscious, the couples entered the ballroom and responded to the crowd's appreciative applause and oohs and ahhs by grinning ear to ear.

"Beautiful, just beautiful," she insisted, then sighed. "You want to keep them to yourselves, but you know this is their first step before flying into adulthood."

Once all the couples had paraded on by, parents continued to take photos and videos until Zimmerman gently chided them to "leave so the kids can get on with their prom!"

The music started and the 130 kids went from being dressed up young adults to, well, kids. Off came the high heels and tux jackets, too cumbersome to dance to Will Smith's "Switch."

"There were no expensive dresses. There were no limos. There was no after-prom," recalled the 1983 graduate of Jefferson High School. "It was dinner before and a dance in the school gym."

Prom is the junior class gift to the seniors, Rasmussen said. The juniors raise money by selling concession items at sports activities. Students also chose the theme, "Deep Blue Night," and sit on committees that will get the decorations, music, photos and any other keepsakes of the event.

Blue mesh was draped from the ceiling and held white balloons providing an ocean with bubbles effect. Each table had a goldfish in a bowl on a mirrored tile, while colored Goldfish crackers were sprinkled around.

"We started decorating on Friday, but I had to run to Wal-Mart today," confessed Zimmerman, who is the faculty advisor for prom. "I discovered a few casualties in the water bowls."

Once the dance was done, it was on to the after-prom party which started about 12:30 a.m. About 20 more students who opted out of prom showed up for the fun and games.

At first glance it appeared to be a completely different group of students who walked into Lewis Bowl North. Dressed in t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops, the only resemblance to the crowd at the country club was the girls and their upswept hair, make-up and for some, the jazzy jewelry.

Prom Queen Hannah Morford of Dakota Dunes still had her tiara on, explaining, "I'm afraid if I try to take it off, it will pull my hairdo out."

Post-prom has become a norm for most schools. It's a chance for parents to keep kids away from underage drinking and motel parties, yet provide interesting and lively activities to hold their interest until 4 a.m.

"We started post-prom around 1990," Rasmussen recalled. "It was a direct request from parents and teachers to have something for the kids to do once the dance was done."

Parent Lori Rabbitt of North Sioux City, whose senior daughter Brittney and junior son Brandon were both at this year's prom, helped with last year's after-prom party. This year, she chaired the event.

"Last year, we held it at the school and had inflatables and games and prizes for the kids to do," she said. "We didn't want to duplicate that experience for someone who had attended last year, so we decided to go off site."

Senior Meggan Morehead of Dakota Dunes attended last year's prom and liked the school approach better; primarily because of the inflatables. Senior Mitch Huber of McCook Lake, another prom repeat, had more praise for last year's Martin Ballroom choice because of the larger dance floor.

Rabbitt estimated her committee worked with about a sizeable budget that included the site, the prizes and the entertainment to convince the students to embrace the post-prom event. The premier door prize was a Gateway Computer.

Entertainment for this year and last year included hypnotist Michael Johnson, aka Al Kaytraz, of Minneapolis, Minn. Rabbitt said the entertainer was so well-received last year they decided to invite him back.

Senior Laura Hildebrand of Dakota Dunes was convinced she was the president of the United States who needed to revoke everyone's driver's license. Mimicking actress Geena Davis from the TV show Commander in Chief, Hildebrand insisted the decision was necessary and urged students to stand "united as one" in this effort.

Equally as entertaining were her two bodyguards, Tanner Jones of McCook Lake and Kyle Jaeger of Dakota Dunes. Standing at attention like two Marines, Jones and Jaeger could not use physical force to protect the First Lady, but screamed at and stepped toward volunteers who tried to approach her.

Rabbitt couldn't recall any mischief or shenanigans at last year's prom and didn't anticipate problems this year. Parental presence was obvious, including dads stationed at the doors, in case anyone considered sneaking out. Sleep wasn't even a concern, Rabbitt said.

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